Politics and Religion

From a commentary in the WSJ:

Recently the presidential campaigns have been turning to talk of the candidates' religious faith. Barack Obama proclaims a "personal relationship" with Jesus Christ. Democratic candidate John Edwards is on the religious offensive, speaking for Jesus himself when he tells an interviewer he thinks Christ "would be appalled" by our current policies regarding poverty and the war. Even the candidate who is arguably the least religious of the frontrunners -- Rudy Giuliani -- feels compelled to defend himself publicly on questions of whether he is "Catholic enough."

The salience of religion in our presidential politics perplexes Europeans, who generally see religion as a weird relic from the pre-scientific past. If Angela Merkel or Nicolas Sarkozy had made public statements during their campaigns about their personal relationship with Jesus Christ, it probably would have ended their political aspirations right then and there. As the head of a French think tank put it, "The biblical references in politics, the division of the world between good and evil, these are things that simply don't get. In a number of areas, it seems to me that we are no longer part of the same civilization."

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB118757440909802546.html?mod=todays_us_opinion (subscription)

Yes, they're part of civilization and we're part of some retarded faux-cowboy's nightmare.

were Europe's fundie rejects, OK so we seemed to gain some sanity for a few generations but it was only superficial.

by Mark Lilla in this past Sunday's NYTimes magazine.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/19/magazine/19Religion-t.html?_r=1&ref=magazine&oref=slogin

Awfully good article.

(I'll post this also in Religion/Theology)